The Holy Grail War Blessed by the Gods

At least, smashing it into Jin Gu wouldn't dissolve him so easily; in fact, it would be a very difficult task.

"I never imagined that he harbored another sun within him. I heard the voices calling for Shamash through the crack in the temple door. I thought that if it was the sun of Utu, it wouldn't be enough to be afraid of. I never expected that this sun came from the west, the sun that rises from the Nile River."

Jingu said with frustration. He had expected that the sun might rise again, but without much preparation, the rising sun would indeed be as fragile as the one that had been shattered before.

Shamash's status was much higher during the Babylonian period, but at that time, he was still called Utu, and his status was not as high as that of his father, Nanna, the moon goddess.

At this time, the sun is inferior to the moon, not as high above, and unable to protect agriculture, so it is naturally looked down upon.

To date, no myths from the Sumerian period have been found featuring Utu as the main character; he was essentially a supporting character in the rest of the myths.

Of course, this is relative. In the list of gods excavated from the Early Dynastic period, his name ranks only after Enlil, Enki, and An, plus Inanna and Nanna.

In later pantheons, he was placed between Nanna and Adad, while in Babylonian pantheons, he was placed between Ishkur and Ninurta.

Although he is indeed an important deity, among the truly most important deities, his position is often relatively low; at least the moon does indeed outweigh the sun.

Although he has also been given very high titles, such as Shamash is the Lord of the Gods, Shamash is the Enlil of the Gods, and Shamash is the most important of the gods, his fame has been limited to Larsa.

Larsa is the city that serves Utu. It is located southeast of Uruk and northeast of the city of Uur, so it will not be affected too much.

However, this city was never qualified to challenge the Sumerian monarchy. Its status was never that high, and it only became powerful for a time near the Babylonian period.

"The sun over the Nile is incomparable to the sun over this land; it is comparable to the gods Enlil, Enki, and An, and is the highest faith of the Egyptians."

Although the scorching sunlight wasn't that intense, the power was already clearly manifested, and King Gu had no choice but to back down.

"If we want to kill the fake Enlil God, it is not enough to have the Forest Goddess as the vanguard. Perhaps we do need to rely entirely on the power of the other two goddesses. We need to make the Goddess of Death able to destroy this temporary underworld."

Although it's regrettable, it's not without hope. Jingu didn't decide to fight to the bitter end and instead backed down.

“Mother, if we continue, we have no chance of winning. His power will only continue to accumulate in the underworld, but we cannot kill him. The best outcome is just a stalemate here, which is no different from defeat.”

Please quell your anger for now. Even if it ends here, you won't be able to swallow this anger. Humanity cannot suffer so much; your hatred cannot be so easily abandoned and extinguished here. Therefore, please return to your Temple of Blood.

Kingu spoke to Gorgon, and the goddess accepted his advice, turning away in silence and resentment, making her own decision. 9.

But Gorgon still couldn't quell his anger, and here he simply turned back and spoke again.

"You will not live long, Enlil God. The fate of humanity's destruction is unchangeable. Today you have stopped me from bringing destruction upon this place, but in a few days I will return to destroy Nippur. At that time, you will not be able to stop me, and you will be brutally killed by me and my demonic beasts." (Temple)

Having said that, Gorgon smashed through a nearby wall and burst out of the city, transforming into a giant serpent that tore through the earth and disappeared.

Only after seeing Gorgon leave safely did Jingu swiftly fly away from there. *Hiss*

"Yeah, this is the worst I've ever been in. Even my arms are numb and I can't lift them."

Manju sat in his gloomy palace, watching the goddess and her child depart, his face showing little joy. 9.

Such a dilapidated scene hardly qualifies as a victory; it is clearly not, nor can it be called one. It can only be described as a dismal end, barely deserving the name of a draw.

Rebuilding this city will likely require far more effort than before; at the very least, it must be restored to its original state, which will take more than a day or two.

The city no longer resembled a city. Apart from the crumbling walls still standing, nothing of value remained within its walls, except for the central mountain and temple.

Everything was engulfed in the swirling flood, even the goddess's Noble Phantasm turned to dust.

The sun never fully rose, and Manjusaki brought the rising sun back to his eyes, letting it fall back into his gaze. Q

Manju regained his magical power and then continued to command the land he stood on to grow upwards.

This mountain, which fell from the heavens to the depths of the underworld, now continues to rise even higher—not to raise the ground, but only to elevate the mountain itself, allowing most of it to remain hidden within the underworld, thus creating a new disguise.

Only when the mountaintop reached the city's level did Manjushri summon earth and stones to fill the sky above the underworld and the city's ground.

Ultimately, the filling cannot be too thin, otherwise people might accidentally fall into the underworld, which is not suitable for ordinary people to enter.

After Manjushri finished paving the ground, he waved his hand and emitted light from the temple to guide the citizens who were still on the dilapidated city wall.

The guide used the usual staircase, leading them to a mountain that was still rising. The mountain only needed to stay at a height of about four or five hundred meters above the ground, so Manju stopped the mountain from growing any further.

Manjushri did not appear in person, but remained seated in the temple, instead creating something else entirely.

His sanctuary needs a guardian, and he also needs someone to speak with outsiders and to proclaim his words.

The temple of Enlil once had a guardian. In Babylonian mythology, Anzu, who stole the version of the goddess of destiny, was the guardian of the temple of Enlil.

However, it failed to fulfill its duty and, taking advantage of Enlil's absence, stole the Tablet of Fate.

The gods sent three deities, Adad, Gibir, and Sarah, to fight against Anzu. These three were respectively deities associated with storms and rain, fire, and warriors, but they all ultimately failed.

It was Enki who ultimately came up with the idea to send Enlil's son, Ninurta, to fight against Anzu. Ninurta successfully defeated Anzu and regained the Tablets of Destiny.

Because of this achievement, Ninurta stood out among the gods and became an important member of the gods.

To summon the Anzu bird as the guardian of the temple would be a deliberate act of wrongdoing, and it is clearly something that cannot be done.

Manjusuke wanted to use the hero who had defeated the Anzu bird, Ninurta, the son of Enlil, a powerful warrior who had defeated countless monsters and made great achievements.

Ninurta himself was a god worshipped in Nippur, and because of his status as the son of Enlil, he enjoyed considerable glory in Nippur.

The main center of worship in Ninurta was Ekur in Nippur, while the city of Gilsu worshipped a deity similar to that of Ninurta.

As Gilsu's status in Sumer declined, the god worshipped in Gilsu became increasingly confused with Ninurta, to the point that they were later regarded as the same god.

With this in mind, Manjus decided to create a warrior who could handle most things on his behalf, so that he could devote himself to rebuilding the city.

So Manju finally stepped down from his seat and reached out to carve a picture of the deity on the temple gate.

The first story depicted was of Ninurta, who held a thunderbolt, had four wings on his back, and chased after the Anzu bird.

What Manju needs most is his combative side, his side as a powerful warrior.

So the first scene depicted was his battle. Next, under the mural of Ninurta chasing the Anzu bird, Manju painted scenes of many beasts being defeated.

A six-headed ram was hung on the dust-proof guardrail in front of Ninurta's chariot; a seven-headed giant snake was hung on the chariot's crossbeam; a mermaid was hung on the chariot's foot pedals; a ship that carries the souls of the dead to the underworld was hung on the chariot; and a precious piece of metal was placed on the chariot's inner pin. These were all Ninurta's spoils of war, which he placed on his chariot to demonstrate his bravery.

These defeated spirits and monsters are described on the stone tablets as strange minor gods, many of which are used to refer to various tribes in the nearby mountains. They can also be considered as stories that arose from the mythology of the Sumerian conquest of the nearby mountains.

Besides being a god of war, Ninurta also embodies the god of fertility and agriculture.

Legend has it that Enlil once taught his son Ninurta farming skills, and his name also means the ruler of the earth, the king of barley.

In fact, Ninurta was originally the god of agriculture and medicine. The earliest descriptions of him are that he healed people's diseases and rescued them from the clutches of demons.

However, in later evolutions, Ninurta gradually evolved into a warrior god, and was revered for his warrior attributes, especially among the Assyrians, where he was quite popular and worshipped as a brave warrior.

Therefore, what Manju depicted on the other side was not a warrior's image, but an agricultural god holding wheat and planting crops, with Ningnurta's advice on agricultural matters written on it, accompanied by an illustration. 9

This includes questions such as how to plant, care for, and harvest crops, and how to keep birds away from crops. 4

“Ninurta, mighty warrior of Enlil! Ninurta, tiller of Enlil! Enlil calls upon you from his temple, Ekur, hoping that you will once again protect your father's temple and uphold his majesty, just as you did against the Anzu bird.”

Manju stroked the mural he had just finished, softly calling out to it, and then the gods on the mural began to chant the myth of Ninurta. 2

Perhaps a simpler method would be to summon a true deity, but Manjusaka is not Enlil, so this unnecessary step will be avoided. 4

Manju placed the useless wrathful serpent on top as well. Although Marduk's divinity wasn't closely related to Ninurta, there were no other options, so this would do. 3

Now, let's create one that's usable, and then make the worshipful voice make him look like Ninurta. 3

After some effort, the painting on the door finally came to life, standing before Manshu as a valiant warrior.

"In the name of the god Enlil, I give you the name Ninurta, son of Enlil, and command you to act as a tiller of Enlil, as a warrior of Enlil."

The divine king's authority has already promised this, and right here in Nippur, the deed is done. Awaken, I want you to be my priest, to keep Ekul pure and holy for me; you are Ninurta.”

The valiant warrior opened his eyes, but the light of lightning still danced on his body—the aura of the Storm God.

However, it's not a big deal. Enlil is the god of wind, so it's not unusual for his son to use wind and lightning. Ninurta used wind and lightning when he fought against Anzu.

"My God, great Enlil."

Upon waking, Ninurta worshipped Manju. Manju paused for a moment before he stood up. He then left the temple at Manju's command to attend to the affairs of the city.

“I entrust the entire city of Nippur, except for Ekurne, to you to restore order to the city and bring everything into order.”

The task was entrusted to Ninurta, and Manjushri then issued an order to inform the priests about Ninurta's situation so that they would not encounter any problems.

After putting that matter to rest, he resumed what he was supposed to do, and now simple dwellings were erected on the ground for people to live in, and he went on to rebuild the broken city walls.

The situation here seemed to have temporarily come to an end, and the city was beginning to recover. However, on the morning of the following day, several people from Chaldea were dispatched here.

Chapter 158 The Long Road (Part 9)

"Hahahaha... Even with the two goddesses' intervention, they only managed a hasty retreat. Not only did their ambitions become blatantly obvious, but they also returned empty-handed. How utterly foolish!"④

In the central palace of Uruk, Gilgamesh paused his work on official matters, while the High Priestess Siduri, standing nearby, also received news from the sacrificial site. Furthermore...

"My lord, is Nippur still safe and sound?"

The only detectable phenomenon at the Firelink Shrine was an extremely high magical reaction appearing in Nippur City on the northern wall of the Demonic Beast Front. Based on Gilgamesh's words, it could be inferred that a previously unseen goddess had reappeared.

But what the specific outcome would be was hard to know; it just seemed from her words that it was a good thing, so Siduri asked. (5)

Gilgamesh, possessing eyes that can see the future, would naturally understand what has happened far better than those here. ⑥

"Heh, it's just a mere goddess who returned empty-handed. This matter isn't worth discussing. Let's move on to the next task. Oh, and have the Chaldea team come to me after they've finished their work." (Qiong)

Gilgamesh calmed his extremely exaggerated laughter, regained his composure, and resumed handling state affairs.

Knowing that Nippur was alright, Siduri was relieved and continued having her reports submitted, before leaving to inform Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others.

...Q

"Fujimaru, do you know Nippur?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka and his companions also returned to Uruk today. They had previously traveled with Merlin to Kusa, a city where Gilgamesh's clay tablets were located.

That clay tablet was written by Gilgamesh upon his return from the underworld, based on his clairvoyance and his observations of the Magic King.

However, no one should be able to tell right now that what was recorded was the revelation of the Magic King's true identity. After all, it's not an easy option to guess. Perhaps they can tell that the Magic King is not Solomon, but it's still hard to guess who he is.

"Is it the city located on the north wall of Uruk, left behind on the other side of the Babylonian monster front? I heard it was a fortress city of the same level as Uruk."

The Chaldeans have been living in Uruk for some time now, integrating into the community and gaining an understanding of the surrounding area and its people.

"That's right. Not long ago, it was a city that, despite being surrounded by monsters, managed to hold out until now by defending its city to the death."

Gilgamesh spoke.

"Not long ago?"

"Not long ago, that ill-mannered stranger who met you came here to visit me. He asked me for the job of defending against the monsters in exchange for the opportunity to settle down in this land."

Because Nippur is located on the northern edge of the absolute monster front, we have been taking advantage of the gaps in the monster attack cycles to evacuate the people of that city. However, the city's reserves are almost exhausted, and it is no longer possible to hold out any longer.

However, a considerable number of people still remain in Nippur, and with their remaining strength, they can withstand one or two more periodic attacks from the monsters. Therefore, I sent him to Nippur.